Species Accounts

Priority Breeding, Target, and Stewardship Species

The Blueprint for Minnesota Bird Conservation is divided into four geographic regions, and for each region we have identified a set of Priority Breeding Species. There are 109 priority breeding species, with some species occurring in more than one region.

To further focus conservation efforts we identified between 3-9 Target Species for each region. Target Species are birds whose status and trends are likely to be responsive to changes in ecological conditions, permit inference to the integrity of the overall ecosystem, and provide meaningful information regarding the effectiveness of the plan. Each Target species represents an important habitat within that region.

Additionally we identified 12 statewide Stewardship Species which are not unique to any specific region. Stewardship Species are common in the state and were identified as birds for which Minnesota:

contains 5% or more of the bird’s global breeding population, and

encompasses 5% or more of their breeding range.

We highlighted these birds because they are often not part of conservation planning due to their large numbers. However, Audubon believes that we must recognize the importance of Minnesota to the global conservation of these species.